IVM response: to questionable PR Release from a competitor


Vent-Tech® -  The Best Flat-Float Cylindrical Combination ARV

 

Our Mission:

  • Provide the best Flat-Float, Cylindrical, Combination Air Release Valve [ARV] on the market.

  • Do so in an ethical and professional manner. 

  Note:  no clever uses of words, no spin, no ambiguity or implied meanings.  

A recent Press Release from our main competitor states…   
 They also significantly outperformed every competitor’s valve to which they were compared

Our independent third-party testing shows every Vent-Tech® SWG model out performs their Flat-Float Cylindrical [FFC] Sewer valves.    
E.g.  The vacuum (-5psig) relief flow tests of our top FFC 4 SWG (photo right) is 200% of their nominally sized FFC  4 (RGX100) ARV.

The vacuum performances of Vent-Tech®’s ARVs were ‘Third-Party’ tested in 2010.  The results were verified by using both CFD methods and by physically measuring vacuum flow rates.  Our identical testing on that competitor’s ARVs called the competitor’s performance claims into question. Their published data and its implied physical testing of vacuum flow performance, has been circulated for decades, incorporated into many public tender documents, and used as the design basis by many engineering companies and surge prediction software.  However, the integrity of this data was questioned in 2010 by one of the largest pipeline engineering companies in the USA, when it was shown that the competitor’s (entire 100+ data point) vacuum flow tables for both FFC water and sewer valves could be derived (Avg. error < 0.1%) from a single equation scaled simply to nominal valve inlet size.

 

The flat float cylindrical [FFC] design was created to avoid the always present problem of hollow-ball float and connecting hardware failures.  We accept that the ARV market is dominated by cheaper hollow-ball type valves, but we refuse to compromise good design and reliability to achieve niche headlines.

 

However, a new hollow-ball style ARV, with a cast-metal body is being promoted by our competition, and while there is a trend away from cast-metal valves due to their reported susceptibility to seismic failures, we acknowledge that such a design could be shown have a greater flow at fullvacuum (not that this is recommended).  However, this new design also lacks the capability for exhausting large volumes at low head.  This is desirable during pipeline filling to reduce energy consumption and save time.  We have no doubt that this new valve will sell for less.

 

Vent-Tech®  valves have been publicly (third-party) tested in side-by-side physical flow tests for groups of City Engineers, confirming our predictions of superior flow capacities compared to this competitor.  The first public side-by-side flow comparison was at the Country’s largest tradeshow for the Industry, WefTec in 2010, where our striking flow improvements may have created an awkward moment for this competitor, who interestingly, has failed to show at subsequent WefTec?s.

 

This competitor claims their brand               
       …is indisputably the most effective of any kind available anywhere in the world today….    We think not!